Sea Thrift Shawl…

Here’s the link to my Ravelry and Etsy stores where you are able to purchase the pattern for this shawl. And here’s the story behind my design…

Back in May I took a photo of the ‘Sea Thrift’ flowers on our local clifftops and published it to my Instagram with the following comment…

‘Sea Thrift… I love these beautiful little coastal flowers. We saw this gorgeous display yesterday. I’m not sure what is making the spring flowers in the South East of England particularly spectacular this year! I haven’t seen the Sea Thrift look this good in years…’

The photo then provided Sheena from The Mermaids Purse Handmade with some inspiration…“Wow. I was looking for some colour inspiration and then saw this. Perfect!”

Sheena dyed some of her gorgeous yarn inspired by these colours… ‘Sea Thrift is inspired by a stunning photo by @coastalcrochet’ …and of course I couldn’t resist buying some!

I so love it when nature provides the perfect inspiration and we are able to share this across the world through our online connections…

Another fellow Instagram user used another of my photos as inspiration for her needle felt artwork. Melissa from Yarn of a Tail produced this stunning needle felt wool painting (on the left) based on one of my photographs (on the right)…

Flowers by the Sea is complete! Thank you @coastalcrochet for the beautiful reference photo!

Melissa doesn’t live anywhere near the sea…isn’t it amazing that she captured my local clifftop flowers so well! 🙂 🙂

Back to my Sea Thrift shawl…well, now that I had 100g of beautiful 4ply cotton I needed something to crochet and a shawl seemed the perfect thing. So I designed my ‘Sea Thrift Shawl’ – a small, light and airy shawl, perfect to wrap around your neck on a summers evening coastal walk past the Sea Thrift flowers…

My daughter has yet again proved to be a fabulous model for my crochet creations!The shawl is finished with a little charm to the point and I used the free stitch marker that Sheena sends out with all her yarns…

…isn’t that mermaid gorgeous!? 🙂 🙂

So there you have it – a little background to my ‘Sea Thrift Shawl’. This is the first pattern that I am charging for. I know that many people don’t like to buy patterns and why would they when there are 1000’s available online for free!? But I spend a lot of time writing my patterns and work so hard to get them right. It is very time consuming and although I do it because I so love crochet, I also dream of being able to make an income from this craft I love. So unless I start charging how will that ever happen?

It’s also about valuing ourselves and the craft of crochet. I don’t think anyone would ever dream of asking a songwriter to write them a song for free or expect an author to write a book for free or a wedding photographer to take wedding photos for free! Why should a crochet designer write crochet patterns for free…

Beautiful. I totally understand about charging for your patterns – it’s your time and your intellectual property. Why should you give it away for free? And I hate to say it, but I myself have (and I know many others writers have also) been asked to write books or articles for free! Absolutely no need to apologise for valuing yourself and your work.

Absolutely. And, as I cheer you on, I remind myself that it’s always easier to champion others for their worth than to believe in our own worth – so will heed the comments I’m making to you in relation to my own self belief 🙂

What a brilliant post, Eleonora! I love this shawl and can’t wait to have a go at it even if I haven’t got such lovely indie yarn! You’re quite right – patterns cannot be free when you are spending so much time working them out and testing them. I really hope that crochet can become a profitable hobby for you. Love your blog, your projects and super pics. That needle felt wool painting is gorgeous, isn’t it?
If ever a blog succeeded in inspiring a student to go on to Part 2 of the IDC it is yours …. because of the amazing creativity you have shown since you began the second part of the course. The last of my work has been sent off and I await my final assessment! I am going to a two-day workshop at Crochet Design in September and hope to get the certificate. Fingers crossed!
I hope you get lots of orders for your patterns. Well done too on the bonfire project for Hobbycraft.
Have a great summer,
Jenny x 🌸🌸

Hi Jenny, thank you so much! That’s so lovely of you to say… and well done on completing part 1. I’m sure you’ll have a great weekend at Crochet Design! Part 2 certainly gave me the boost I needed- it’s been brilliant but I haven’t actually submitted anything for a few months now as I’ve been busy with these other designs…Must get back to it soon! 😊😊😊❤

I’m so glad you’ve published your pattern, I’ve got a skein I immediately thought of when I saw your shawl. Happy to buy it because I know that the standard of your work is very high and you’ve been very generous with your patterns.

Pattern bought and started! My skein is wool but it will be perfect for the transition between the warmer and cooler seasons. I’ve already discovered some cotton in my stash to make one for the summer. The pattern is very clear and easy to follow, thank you!

Eleonora, what a lovely shawl, I don’t think you should ever apologise for charging! You’ve taken the time to write the pattern. It’s beautiful, definitely on my to do list, I think the stitch marker is perfect!

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My name is Eleonora- I live on the south coast of England with my husband, three fast growing children and a Miniature Schnauzer. Oh how I love to crochet (and anything else yarn or coastal related!) Crochet designing and teaching will be my focus over the coming year...